Is it always so busy?

My oldest brother lives in Reno and usually visits once a year during the summer. A couple of months ago, I sent him my summer schedule showing a hectic pace that seemed reasonable in e-mail but seems daunting as we live it. There is always so much going on, but we live a very busy lifestyle which can be fun but exhausting. Last week, I spent 3 days in Coeur d'Alene, one day in the office back in Boise, and then 4 days in Sun Valley attending the Governor's Cup. Heather and Ethan joined me in Sun Valley, and it was fun though the weather turned cold and rainy on the one day I had free time to bike ride with Ethan. As a result, the walls of our tiny studio condo started to close in on us. This weekend, we're off to New Meadows with Heather's sisters for the weekend followed next weekend by what I hope will be a relatively uneventful 4th of July holiday. Then, my 30th class reunion is upon us followed by our annual "We really will get rid of everything we don't need this time" garage sale which is followed by a work event for four days in McCall. Is it August yet?

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Same as it ever was

When I had my two strokes more than 13 years ago, I was 50 years old. In the ensuing years I’ve had some health issues related to my strokes and other assorted “age related” things. In May of 2023, I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. As a result I have endured two years of pain and the resulting lack of exercise. That summer I tried to walk regularly but my heel pain was too extreme. I tried to do exercises to relieve the pain but nothing helped. In September of 2023 I asked my doctor to give me a shot of Cortizone. We were headed to Boston for meetings and then headed to Maine. I just wanted to enjoy the trip without pain. It helped a lot. Six months later I had the same pain. I went to an orthopedic doctor who prescribed minor physical therapy. It worked for a bit and then the pain got worse. In September of 2024, my regular doctor gave me another round of Cortizone shots so I could travel to Phoenix. It really helped. For a while. In February of 2025, the pain got worse. I went ...

Phantom Blindness and Taking a Break after Strokes

I met with my eye doctor last week about taking some time off from my vision therapy. I have been doing therapy since my stroke almost two and a half years ago. I am tired, and a need a break. My doctor said, “This is completely understandable. Take some time off.” At the appointment, my doctor tested my vision. Because of the strokes, my vision was affected, and I have a problem in my field of vision on the right side. I have a deficit with my right side peripheral vision. However, it is getting better. During the test, I told him that I “sense things on the right side of my peripheral vision.” It seems that I know that something is there, but I cannot really distinguish what it is. He told me that there is a body of thought describing phantom vision or phantom blindness. A Polish researcher, L. Bieganowski, described this phantom blindness this way: “The subject of the paper is the phenomenon of phantom vision. It occurs among the blind (or almost blind...

January

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Dunham Family and My Stroke Story!

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